Policy support for startups to promote economic growth, innovation stressed 

ICONN Summit by CII CIES explores corporate-startup synergy, innovation, and economic growth with sectoral sessions and awards.

A two-day ICONN Summit organised by the Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Startups (CII CIES) of CII with ‘Catalysing Corporate – Startup Synergy,’ as the theme got underway here on Tuesday (December 17, 2024) with speakers underscoring the role of startups in growth of the economy, promote innovation and the significance of hand holding them.

Highlighting the importance of collaboration and innovation in fostering sustainable economic growth, Chairman of the CII CIES Advisory Board and past president of CII Kris Gopalakrishnan called for measures to harness India’s entrepreneurial and technological strengths to effectively tackle global challenges.

The programme features seven sectoral sessions - startup-industry-academia, manufacturing tech, agritech, social tech, healthtech, electric mobility and defence tech, CII said in a release. The focus is on promoting opportunities for corporates to nurture innovations by partnering with startups, family offices considering startups as investment partners and startups showcasing their innovations, technologies and products at an expo, along with pitching sessions over the two days.

President of the Aeronautical Society of India and former Chairman of DRDO G.Satheesh Reddy said startups have a key role in enhancing India’s capabilities in sectors such as space, deep tech and medical technologies. He highlighted the need for ongoing investment and policy support to nurture the startup ecosystem, especially in high-impact sectors vital for national security and technological leadership.

General Officer Commanding of the Telangana and Andhra Sub Area (TASA) in Secunderabad Major General Ajay Misra stressed the importance of indigenising disruptive technologies, building robust supply chains and enhancing India’s defence technology capabilities as essential strategies to mitigate global volatility.

CII Vice President R.Mukundan, Bluestar Managing Director B.Thiagarajan and Co-Chairman of CII Unicorn Forum Rahul Garg were among those who addressed the Summit in which 10 startups were presented with the CII Startupreneur Awards 2024; CII’s compendium ‘50 Top Women in Innovation’ was launched and two reports -- Unlocking Opportunities: India–Saudi Arabia Start-up Ecosystem Convergence developed jointly by CII CIES and Grant Thornton and Inspirational Entrepreneurs - The Legacy and Recipes developed by CII CIES were released.